Glossary

A/B Testing

A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app to determine which performs better. Users are...

Agile

A project management methodology emphasizing iterative development, collaboration, and flexibility. ...

Algorithm

In SEO context, the complex system search engines use to retrieve and rank results. Google's algorit...

Angel Investor

An individual who provides capital to startups in exchange for equity or convertible debt. Angels ty...

API

Application Programming Interface. A set of protocols and tools that allows different software appli...

Automation

Using technology to perform tasks without manual intervention. Business automation connects tools, t...

Avoiding Stupidity

Munger's principle that avoiding dumb mistakes is more important than being brilliant. 'It is remark...

B

Backlink

A hyperlink from one website to another. Backlinks are a key ranking factor in SEO, as search engine...

Beta Testing

A phase where a near-complete product is released to external users for testing in real-world condit...

Bootstrap

Building a company with personal finances or operating revenue rather than external investment. Boot...

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page without taking any action...

C

CAC

Customer Acquisition Cost. The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing, sales, a...

Canonical URL

The preferred version of a web page when multiple URLs contain similar or identical content. Set via...

CDN

Content Delivery Network. A distributed network of servers that delivers web content based on user l...

Churn Rate

The percentage of customers who stop using a product or service during a given time period. High chu...

Circle of Competence

A mental model from Charlie Munger about knowing the boundaries of your expertise. Success comes fro...

CLS

Cumulative Layout Shift. A Core Web Vital measuring visual stability—how much visible content shifts...

CMS

Content Management System. Software that allows creating, managing, and modifying website content wi...

Commercial Intent

A search where users are researching before making a purchase decision. Examples: 'best CRM software...

Compound Interest

Munger calls compound interest 'the eighth wonder of the world.' Returns generating their own return...

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms existing beliefs while ignor...

Consistency Bias

The desire to be consistent with past commitments, statements, and self-image. Once we take a positi...

Content Marketing

A marketing strategy focused on creating and distributing valuable content to attract and retain a t...

Content Upgrade

A lead magnet specifically related to the content a visitor is reading. More effective than generic ...

Conversion Rate

The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action. Calculated by dividing conversions by tota...

Core Web Vitals

A set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and...

Crawling

The process where search engine bots (crawlers) discover and scan web pages by following links. Craw...

CTA

Call to Action. A prompt that encourages users to take a specific action, such as signing up, purcha...

CTR

Click-Through Rate. The percentage of people who click on a link compared to the total who see it. C...

D

DNS

Domain Name System. The internet's phonebook that translates human-readable domain names (example.co...

Domain Authority

A search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in sear...

E

Email List

A collection of email addresses from people who have opted in to receive communications. A direct li...

Envy

Munger considers envy the stupidest of the deadly sins because 'you don't even have any fun with it....

F

FCP

First Contentful Paint. A performance metric measuring when the first piece of content (text, image,...

Freemium

A pricing model offering a free basic tier with paid premium features. Users get value without payin...

G

Googlebot

Google's web crawling bot that discovers and scans pages for inclusion in Google's search index. Goo...

H

Hanlon's Razor

The principle that you should not attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by incompeten...

Headless CMS

A content management system that separates content storage (back-end) from content presentation (fro...

Hosting

A service that stores website files and makes them accessible on the internet. Options range from sh...

I

Impression

A single instance of content being displayed to a user. In search, an impression occurs when your pa...

Inbound Marketing

A marketing methodology that attracts customers through relevant content and experiences rather than...

Incentives

Charlie Munger's most emphasized principle: 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.'...

Indexing

The process by which search engines store and organize web pages in their database. After crawling a...

Informational Query

A search where the user wants to learn something. Examples: 'how to start a podcast', 'what is SEO'....

INP

Interaction to Next Paint. A Core Web Vital measuring page responsiveness—how quickly the page respo...

Integration

Connecting different software systems to work together, sharing data and triggering actions between ...

Inversion

Charlie Munger's technique of thinking backwards. Instead of asking how to succeed, ask how to fail ...

Iteration

A cycle of building, testing, and improving based on feedback. Each iteration produces a more refine...

J

Jamstack

A web architecture based on JavaScript, APIs, and Markup. Sites are pre-built at deploy time, served...

K

Keyword Research

The process of discovering search terms people use to find products, services, or information. Invol...

L

Landing Page

A standalone web page designed specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign. Visitors arrive...

LCP

Largest Contentful Paint. A Core Web Vital measuring how long it takes for the largest visible conte...

Lead Magnet

A free resource offered in exchange for contact information, typically an email address. Examples in...

Lollapalooza Effect

Charlie Munger's term for when multiple mental models or tendencies combine to produce an extreme ou...

Low-Code

Development platforms that minimize hand-coding through visual development and pre-built components,...

LTV

Lifetime Value (also CLV - Customer Lifetime Value). The total revenue a business can expect from a ...

M

Margin of Safety

A principle from Benjamin Graham, championed by Munger and Buffett. Build a buffer between your esti...

Frameworks for understanding how the world works. Charlie Munger advocates building a 'latticework o...

Moat

A sustainable competitive advantage that protects a business from competitors, like a castle's moat....

Mr. Market

Benjamin Graham's allegory, used by Munger and Buffett. Imagine the market as a manic-depressive bus...

MRR

Monthly Recurring Revenue. The predictable revenue a subscription business can expect each month. Ca...

MVP

Minimum Viable Product. The most basic version of a product that can be released to early adopters. ...

N

Network Effects

A phenomenon where a product or service becomes more valuable as more people use it. Classic example...

No-Code

Tools that allow building software applications without writing code. Visual interfaces, drag-and-dr...

O

Opportunity Cost

The value of what you give up when choosing one option over another. Every decision has an opportuni...

Organic Traffic

Website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results. Organic traffic is earned through ...

P

Paid Traffic

Website visitors acquired through paid advertising channels like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or sponso...

Pivot

A fundamental change in business strategy while keeping some elements constant. Pivots occur when in...

Product-Market Fit

The degree to which a product satisfies strong market demand. Achieved when customers are buying, us...

Prototype

An early sample or model of a product built to test concepts and gather feedback. Prototypes range f...

R

Ranking Factor

An element that search engines consider when determining where a page should rank in results. Confir...

Reciprocity

The deep human tendency to want to return favors and treat others as they treat us. Munger identifie...

Responsive Design

A web design approach where layouts automatically adapt to different screen sizes and devices. Uses ...

ROI

Return on Investment. A measure of profitability calculated by dividing net profit by the cost of in...

Runway

The amount of time a company can operate before running out of money, calculated by dividing cash on...

S

SaaS

Software as a Service. A software distribution model where applications are hosted in the cloud and ...

Search Intent

The underlying goal behind a search query. Four main types: informational (learn something), navigat...

Second-Order Thinking

Considering the consequences of consequences. First-order thinking asks 'What happens next?' Second-...

Seed Round

An early funding round to develop a product and find product-market fit. Typically $500K-$3M from an...

Search Engine Optimization. The practice of improving a website's visibility in organic search engin...

Series A

First major institutional funding round, typically $5M-$20M. Requires demonstrated product-market fi...

SERP

Search Engine Results Page. The page displayed by search engines in response to a query. SERPs inclu...

Serverless

A cloud computing model where the provider manages server infrastructure. Developers write functions...

Social Proof

The psychological tendency to assume actions are correct if others are doing them. Munger notes this...

Sprint

A fixed time period (typically 1-4 weeks) during which a development team works to complete a set am...

SSL Certificate

A digital certificate that enables HTTPS encryption between a browser and server, protecting data in...

Static Site

A website with fixed content delivered to users exactly as stored, without server-side processing. S...

Subscription Model

A business model where customers pay recurring fees (monthly/annually) for continued access to a pro...

Sunk Cost Fallacy

The error of continuing an endeavor because of previously invested resources (time, money, effort) r...

T

Technical SEO

The practice of optimizing a website's technical aspects to improve search engine crawling and index...

Tiered Pricing

A pricing structure offering multiple plans at different price points with varying features or limit...

Traction

Quantitative evidence of market demand. Traction metrics include revenue, user growth, engagement, a...

Transactional Query

A search where the user intends to complete an action, usually a purchase. Examples: 'buy iPhone 15'...

TTFB

Time to First Byte. The time from when a browser requests a page to when it receives the first byte ...

U

User Story

A short description of a feature from the end-user perspective, following the format: 'As a [user ty...

User Testing

The practice of observing real users interacting with a product to identify usability issues. Users ...

V

Value-Based Pricing

Pricing based on the value delivered to customers rather than cost-plus or competitor-based pricing....

Venture Capital

Professional investment firms that fund high-growth startups in exchange for equity. VCs manage pool...

W